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GEoReE w.1sToUr .AND JOHN` e'nIeHARDsoN, or NEWARK, NEW JERSEY, AssIGNORsA ToTHEMsErlvEs, JAMES DAvIs, Ja., AND SAMUELl R. HAWLEY.

Letters Patent No. 71,662, dated Dccenzer 3, 1867.

IMPROVEMENT. IN EAT-minutie MACHINES.

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' 'ro ALL WHOM'IT MAY ooN'cERN:

Be tknown that we, GEORGE W. S'rour and Jour(v C. RicnAnDsoN, beth of the city of Newark, county ot' Essex, and State of New Jcrseyhave invented certain Improvements in lolut-Finishing,Machines; and we do hereby declaro that the following, taken in connection with thedrawings which accompany and form part of this 4speciiication, is a description of our invention sniiicient toenable those skilled in the art to practise it.

` Our invention relates to that class of machines having for their object the ironing'or finishing of hats.

It consists mainly in such novel construction cfa machine as tendu-rit of the simultaneous ironing-or inishing of the'htop of thccrown, the sides ct' the crown, and also both sides of' the brim, thus enabling the operator to finish a hat complete at one operation;

It further consists in numerous details. hereinafter set forth, which serve to contribute towards the above ge-neral result.

. Figure l of the drawings represents a plan view,

Figure 2 a rear view, and A Figure 3 a side View of a machine illustrating our invention. The red lines indicate the position of the swinging arm which carries the side iron, and also the position l. of the hat-blocl-:, when the same are thrown out of their operative positions.,

A represents the framework 'et' a machine 4embodying our invention, and which may be made of any suitable form or material adapted to receive and sustain the machinery hereinafter described. Cross-bars B servo to give bearings or supports to a`lower system of shafting, and the top or table C of the framework serves to support l un upper system of shafting, and other parts of the operative machinery. D is the main shaft of' the machine,

and which may be driven by power er by hand. This-shaft revolves in suitable bearings` in cross-bars B, and there are secured upon it, and so' as to revolve with it, a drum, E, a pulley, F, and at its outer extremity a bevelled pinion, G. Upon the out-chr side of the framework, and ati-ight angles to shaft D, and supported in Suitable bearings in brackets, or otherwise, as may be found convenient, is .another shaft, H, on one end of which is a bevellcd geur, Ldriveuby the gear G, vanden the' other end a pulley, K, a 'cord er band-from which drives, as hereafter described,- a series ofpulleys for revolving certain of the irons. Up'on thcl'nain shaft is placed a sleeve, L, rigidly secured to which, and preferably cast in one piece with it, is a swinging arm, M, tc

the upper end of which is pivoted, se that it may, when desirable, turn thereon, a head-stock,'N. This head- `s'tocli has bearings or supports for a hollow o r tubular shaft, which carries a pulley, O, by which it is driven, :and also -a cylindrically-shaped hollow iron, P, having a circular disk or flange, Q. fA swinging arm, R, through the lower end of 'which the main shaft passes, and upon which the arm swings, carries at its upper' end a shaft,

upon which issecured a large pulley, T, and upon whose end is secured the hat block, which may be of elliptic or other form, as may be found desirable. A cord or band, U, from pulley Een the main shaft, imparts motion tov 'the large'pulley T and hat-block V. From ,theV arm M extends a rod or side arm, lV, to which is attached a cord or chain. This cord is passcdove'r a guidepulley,'X, placed upon any convenient part of the frantic, and its other extremity is secured to a treadle, Y, which projects from a cross-bar, Z, thc latter being pivoted or centred at itscnds, so as to rock in its bearings in the frame. Abelt, O', passing from the drum E up'and 'around the pulley O, serves to drive it and the side iron P, which is upo'n the shaft, with it, and inasmuch as the drum E und pulley 1*1 have a common centre with both of the swinging or rocking arms M and R, the changes in the positions of these about their centres of'motion do not in anywise a'ect thetcnsion or the proper action ofthe cords or belts whicli drive them. Two rods 1 1, placed parallel with cach other, are iirrnly secured to the frames, and above the table, as shown. Upon these rods are supported the carriages or frames 2 3 4, which cari'y respectively the hollow rim-irons 6 7, and the iron 5 for finishing the' crown. To admit of a change of position of these frames, and bhe irons upon them, relatively to each other and to the hat, when desired, each frame is provided with two sleeves, through which the rods 1 respectively pass, and'these rods thus afford themiirmnsupport, and allow of their being slid thereon. Each of these frames or carriages has a bearing atits upper part for 'thc' tubular revolving shafts 10 11 12, and also a hollow cylindrical finishing-iron, numbered respectively 5, 6, 7. The brimirons-6 'i we malte in cylindrical form, and they lare firmly secured to their respective shafts, that they may revolve with thcin.' A spiralspring so connects the carriages 3 4 as to exert a constant tendency to draw closely' together the brim-irons, whilst, for the purpose of separating them when introducing between them or removing ,from between them the hat-brim, we have provided a sliding push-rod 13 to press the carriage 3 away from the curriageil. This rod slides through a suitable hole in carriage 4, and has at its outer end a pivoted connection with a small side arm of crank 14, secured upon'the end of a'rod, 15, which latter being turned in its bearings by the operator, actuates the crank, and so lpushes the carriage 3, as above stated. The spring, when acting to draw the carriages toward cach other again, forces the slide rod back to its normal position. The carriage 2, which supports the iron for finishing thc top ot' the crown, has also a provision for withdrawing it at will from its action upon the hat. To this carriage a cord, 1G, is attached, which, passing over a pulley, 17, properly located in the top of the table, servesLhy means oi' a weight, 18, attached toits free end, to exert a constant tendency to* keep the iron 5 in contact with the top of the hat-crown.l Another cord, 19, running from the outer sideof this carriage, has its outer end connected with a rod, 20, supportedin suitable bearings. The crank or handle 210i' this rod being turned by the operator, the cord is thus wound or coiled upon the rod, and so pulls outward the carriage and its iron, overcoming the force ot' the weight. The pulleys on these carriages need to be so driven as to allow of their change of position-without in anywise disturbing the driving-mechanism or appliances. For this purpose we place lupon the frame of the machine, er upon brackets or supports secured thereon, and in any suitable positions, guide-rollers 22 23 24. An endless driving-belt or cord, 25, is then passed, as shown, from 4the pulley K up and over the guide-roller 22, thence to and around each of the pulleys 26 27 28 successively, thence over guide-pulley 23, thence (in returning) to and over guide-pulley 24, and then back to pulley K, all as shown. The sleeve L admits of being shifted laterally upon the main shaft, and thus allows of-the adjustment of the side iron l? for hat-crowns of different heights. 'lhc flange Q, which may also be hollow like the. ironl P,.of which it forms a part, serves, in connection with it, to give a sharp and true iinish to the edge or angle formed by thc crown and top of the hat. The irons and their shafts-all being hollow or tubular, thc former are readily heated within to the required degree' by simply introducing 'ii'to the latter any suitable conducting pipes, having a common source of supply. f These may be gas-pipes, having 'proper jets or burners within the irons, or they may be ordinary'pipcs for the admission of steam, super-heated steam, or hot air. These pipes. within the tubes we connect to the supply-pipes by a flexible pipe or, swivcl-joint, or in any other well-known manner, in order to admit of the motions and the changes of position of the irons, hereinbefore mentioned.

The operation of the machine is as follows: Abat, 29, is plagcd upon the hat-block,`thc brim-irons 7 being separated, as above described, to admitthe l1atbrim between them, and the iron 5, with its carriage 2, being drawn away from the-hat-bloeli to admit of placing the hat thereon.` The spring then draws thc irons 6 and 7 against the brim, and the weight 18 pulls the crown-iron 5 against the top of' the crown. The foot of the operator being now applied to the treadlc Y, the side crown-iron is thereby drawn against the side of the hat, and the main shaft being set in motion, the hatlblock and hat are caused to rcvolve,.and all the irons now revolving in conjunction, every partei the hat is nishedsiniultaneously. When the hat is nished the machine is stopped, and the iron 5 being pulled back, and theirons 6 and 7 being separated, and the foot removed from the treadle, the hat can be taken from the hat-block and a new one substituted, When desirable, a form .corresponding in its periphery to the elliptic or eccentric form of the hat-block may be used, and so applied to the shaft on which the hat-block is fastened as to give to the block a positive motion to and fro, and thereby always revolving the surface of the hat at a uniform distance from the tips oi' the brim-irons. The shafts that carry the brim-irons may also bc set at an angle towards instead of parallel with one another, and they may be driven by gears, or other suitable mechanism, to admit of the brim-irons being tapered either from theirrbases or tips, as may be found desirable.

We claim as our improvements and invention in hatdinishing machines, as follows:

1. A pair of irons operating in conjunction to iron simultaneously both sides of the brim, substantially as described.

2. The combination, in the saniemachine, of revolving irons for finishing the brim, and also the top and sides of the crown.

Finishingnirons operating simultaneously upon the top of the crown, both sides of the brim, and also upon the sides of the crown.

4. Se combining the irons, which operate upon the brim only, that they may bc readily separated from cach other at will, as and for the purposes described.

5. The combination of the brim-irons with their connecting spring, rod, and crank, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

6r The combination of the brim-irons with their drivi11g-mechanism, so as to admit of the shifting of the positions of the irons without arresting the motions derived from the driving-mechanism, substantially as set forth.

7. The combination of the brim-irons and the top iron with their driving-rncchanism, so that the relative positions of the irons may be changed, for the purpose set fortli.

8. The combination of a revolving hat-block with revolving irons.

9. The combination of a swinging arm, which carries the side irons, with a pivoted hcazl-stoek, as and for the purpose described.

10. The combination of a swinging arm, which carries the hat-block, with a swinging arm which carries a finishing-iron.

GEORGE W. STOUT, JonN o. nienAnnsoN.4

Witnesses:

Moses B. MACLAY, HENRY Dobson. 

